So, most of you know that I nanny. I get the privilege of taking my nanny kids to the country club…they truly have wonderful parents who work so hard and with that comes the best privileges. I must say though, life at the country club is exactly what I thought it would be.

To start off, I was really nervous about my first time at this place. I figured I would feel out-of-place and I tend to become really self-conscious at places like these…you will understand why in a bit. In any sorts, my nanny family pays for a membership so obviously it is in the kids' best interest if we use it.

Once you arrive at the club (parking is very easy to find) you are greeted by a lovely woman in khakis (naturally). Being the virgin I am to country clubs, I order some free waters. I then help the kids with sunscreen, goggles, towels, swim toys etc., and plant my behind on a nice tanning chair (this is only temporary as I must scope out the place, ok it's actually to work up the courage to take my cover-up off). The kids see a bunch of their friends and run off to go play as a 40-something woman with a six-pack and five kids comes and sits in the chair next to me. I nervously look down at my swim cover up and decide that it's ok to leave it on just a wee bit longer. Let me tell you: NO ONE WEARS COVER-UPS. Everyone is flaunting their beautifully sculpted abs, toned arms, and nip and tuck jobs and all the other nannies are showing off their pricey swimwear. It's like I walked into a SAKS 5th Ave pool…pricey and out of my budget. Another thing, there is no one there remotely overweight. I mean, I wouldn't consider myself overweight but I can definitely lose some pounds so this is not a confidence booster. On top of that, I had to naturally eat a small lunch as so I don't get bloated and the sun literally drains everything out of you so you become SO HUNGRY!

Moving on: I eventually work up the courage to quickly take my cover-up off and work my way to the pool to watch the kids. Thankfully, they like it when I am in the pool playing so my love handles are hidden beneath the chlorinated water. I must add, the lifeguards here are no ordinary lifeguards. The female life guards can actually wear two-piece guard suits where the rest of the town wears a one piece. This only adds to my anxiety because along with the very fit 30+ year olds and the skinny nannies, the life guards also look like they were born from a fitness center. Not only that, every one who attends the country club is just good-looking. There is not a pimple or cellulite in sight. It's almost like the beautiful people are filtered out from the rest. On one occasion, we were entering hour two at the pool and I was feeling ok about things. That is until a beautiful bleach blonde woman comes and sits down one chair away from me. She takes her cover-up off right away and who wouldn't have thought…a body builder. I am not joking, a full-blown, no fat, only muscle, dark bronze, bleach blonde, female, body builder. (Props to those who do this) My heart skipped a beat because at that moment, my dirty blonde/brown, once pasty white-skin (now burnt red), flabby love handle, inner-thigh fat body looked worse than ever! I will say she took the attention from me for a bit as most people couldn't get over her tone-ness, but still, it was a horrific moment.

I can honestly see why people enjoy this place, everyone knows everyone, it's private, well-kept, and the kids have a great place to play. I must also note that it is a privilege to attend a place such as this; I am in that time of my life where paycheck to paycheck living is the norm and the closest thing to a country club is my Kate Spade handbag….I had to save up months for that puppy, but I am very thankful I had the oppotunity to go.

Do I fit in? No!

Do I try to act like I do? Absolutely!

Do I look at my stomach every five minutes to make sure it's sucked in enough? Yep.

Do people stare like they can see right through my façade? Heck yes.

Someday I wish to be successful enough to treat my family to such a prestigious and private opportunity. Until then, I will stick with swimming in my bathtub.

Ok, so, my favorite kind of outfits to wear are those that are comfy and simple!! Don't get me wrong, I love dressing up and going out on the town and even dressing up to church, but the minute I come home I am instantly in sweats. I also nanny for three kids and I am constantly running around so I need simple clothes…most of the time I wear nike running shorts or something but I like to mix it up during the week. Let's take a look:

When the going gets tough, we handle things differently. The going is tough for me right now. It is so raw, flammable, and poisonous to discuss over a blog post right now. I am a little lost trying to figure things out. But until I do, I will continue to drink my homemade strawberry smoothie, rub aloe into my crab skin, and hope you all share how you get through your tough times!

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Weekend! It seems like my lover and I have just been running like crazy everyday…I'm excited to finally have some time where we can just relax, let's hope this time comes soon. I was so excited a few weeks ago because the Sioux Falls mall got a Francecsca's. I love, love, love this store; the clothes are so unique and colorful which is what I'm all about! This store has the best skirts and I especially love the embroidered one I have on below:)

Life lately has got me thinking that I want this blog to be something more; to be monumental, inspirational, successful, legendary. OK, I should probably stop, since this won't happen anytime soon how about we just talk about my life lately.

1. Life lately has got me trippin'. Literally and figuratively; I clearly have no brain interaction to my feet but also I have been tripping over all emotional and mental things in life.

2. Life lately has been frustrating. I get weird looks from people in the movie theater, on the street, in my car, and everywhere in between. Well this is what I have to say to that:

3. Life lately literally has me…

4. Life lately has got me so excited for bedtime. I.Need.Sleep

5. Life lately has me excited for this weekend of BBQ, family, and outdoors.

Let's not forget what this Memorial Day is all about. Sure, the sales are amazing, and eating ribs and drinking beer is an obvious, but let's remember who fights for us, who dies and has died for us, and how important it is to honor those who served and those who continue to serve. Thank you all and God Bless America!!

Well all, it has been a whirlwind of a weekend; my boyfriend and I have packed and unpacked, moved and unmoved. Not only that, my family craziness and issues have been enough to last me a lifetime. Let's go over a recap of the weekend:

It started with me packing my apartment; you really don't realize that you have a lot of stuff until you see 3 blenders, 4 down comforters, and way to many Miley Cyrus concert t-shirts. My boyfriend [using all man logic] decided to rent a u-haul that was two sizes too small. I am being serious…picture us loading a coach, decorative chair, two mattresses, table, two chairs, five large tote bins, tv stand, coffee table, three lamps, three sets of bedding, etc. in a 5 x 8' u-haul. On top of attempting to load these items, my OCD and Type A personality kicked into full gear. Eventually we were on the road; with of course, the thoughts of the unloading process dancing in our heads.

With the help of boyfriend's family and mine, we were able to unload in no time…thank goodness. The next best this was shopping together. You must know our relationship, we are both very particular people and although set in our ways, are somewhat flexible; but shopping together was just priceless. Why do I need baskets; cute baskets? What is a decorative box for to sit on the shelves? The shelving nook in the bedroom isn't to lay out clothes and blankets but vases and picture frames? I mean, this shopping trip border lined defcon five. We argue, we bicker, we want to pull our hair out, but this experience has been so worth it and we are so happy. The one thing I have learned through this process that makes it ten times easier is communication. If I thought his idea was down right crazy, I let him know…and when I was being borderline (or not even borderline) bitchy (pardon the profanity) he let me know.

The first night was rough; I burnt dinner (yes we still ate it), our apartment was a tornado, and we were both so sore we couldn't move, but I was with my best friend. I am so excited for this next step in our relationship and to be with my best friend every day.

I haven't been very good at keeping up with the Friday Five, so here you go…enjoy!!

1. I love this woman; she is the most hilarious person on earth. My sister and I obsess over every movie she is. May I present to you, Melissa McCarthy in Tammy. Please WATCH!!

2. My sister has come home with two flat tires in the past week, on two completely different vehicles too. I am a bit terrified of what else this teenager is capable of.

3. My brother and I have such a special bond. He is my little nugget and I am his special big sister. He made me the sweetest clay figure of Sven from Frozen…he is sitting in snow, and some of the snow is yellow.

4. I am obsessed, obsessed, obsessed with Francesca's. If you follow my Instagram you will have seen the picture below and I am in love with the bright colored crossover bag I got. Needless to say, I went back again this evening and made another purchase.

5. This song is my jam. I got one less problem listening to it, I hope you do too.

As most of you know, I have dated my boyfriend for way too many years; just kidding, we are going on seven years. We are the typical couple who are high school sweethearts and we have actually spent the majority of our relationship long distance. You have seen in this post I have mentioned things that can help you survive or persevere through your long distance relationship; I fortunately won't be needing those tips anymore. We have both graduated college and are on the long journey to medical school…and we have decided to move in together.

I know I know, I am sure some of you reading this believe in waiting to move in and such until after marriage, and I agree. With my family the way it is, it seems easier for us to settle into an apartment and start a real relationship with one another. Anyway, I have to admit this is very nerve-racking for me. How many of you have done a big thing like this in your life? I don't know why I am so nervous…I think a huge part is that there are no guarantees in life and this is one of them. I can work as hard as I want at this relationship and I can give it my all, but I have seen one too many relationships in my life crumble so I am optimistically careful.

I will obviously share all the fun apartment decorating tips with you but that's what this post is for. How do you combine your stuff with a guy's and make it look cute but not to feminine? I need help folks!!

Until then, here is a little timeline of our high school relationship turned grown-up!

Comment below with any tips and tricks to make moving in a lot easier!! I look forward to reading what you have to say!!

Have you ever wonder what happened to the Dixie Chicks? On my way home I put in an old CD and sure enough it was the Dixie Chicks album. I obviously jammed out country style but then I got to thinking, what happened to them? Not specifically the women in the group, but the name, the idea, the days way back when. We all live each and every day with something that we hold near and dear to us but then, just like that, it is gone. I mean, the song "goodbye earl" really meant goodbye…I guess I was hoping it was permanent (not the abusive Earl though).

Who doesn't know what I'm talking about? Who's never left home, and who's never struck out? I feel that as time passes we let go of what we used to be. Sure, we are still the same people, but when you look back we have all changed, all grown, all developed into the people we want (or didn't want) to be; so where does the old "us" go? The Dixie Chicks clearly got some cowboys to take them away but I don't think it is that simple.

A huge part of life is trying new things and stepping out of your comfort zone; that's what I did with this blog. I figured this blog could be a hit or miss but so far it's staying afloat. I was skeptical of course; people criticize, people judge, but in the end that doesn't matter. I have learned that I care too much about what others think; I always wanted to impress people, show them I can be good at something, but for what? When it all comes down to it we are all afraid of changing and those wide open spaces that the Chicks sang so twangy about. Let's forget about others and live for ourselves. Do what you love and love what you have become…life is way to short to try and impress others, the only thing that matters is that you are happy with yourself.

As time passes, we let go of our old selves and become the people we strive to be. There is one thing to remember though; don't forget where you came from. Don't forget your roots, your younger self, and the 50 shades of who you are. We must know that it is our old selves that got us where we are today, it is all those "things" that built who we are. If it wasn't for Mary-Kate and Ashley I would not be the clothes loving, celebrity obsessing, passionate woman I am today (you can laugh at this). I mean the Dixie Chicks and Britney Spears were the ones that encouraged me to sing in the house every waking moment; my family thanks you.

I am not really sure where I was heading with this post but I hope you all get the point. I realized towards the end of my car ride as I belted out "Cowboy Take Me Away" that the Dixie Chicks never left, heck I was probably the only woman in America singing their song but that was their legacy, that was their purpose…now, what's yours?

Happy Wednesday Ya'll

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As many of you, I, along with many others, graduated from college last Saturday! I think I owe a big thank you to all who made that day great and who helped me get to where I am. The day was long great, and thanks to my mom, I had a great reception. Instead of blabbing I will just share pictures because that is what many people look at anyways!

P.S I will have outfit details later on in the week:)

Thanks to all who made this a great day…there are more pictures to come they are just on about 5 other different cameras.

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